On the 29th day of the third month of the second year of Gongmu, the Tokugawa clan and the Toyotomi clan confronted each other in Ishikami.
When the war was about to break out, Xiao Ruxun received accurate information from Beijing that both Toyotomi and Tokugawa had won and lost in the war.
This information was very important to Xiao Ruxun. He could believe that a small battle with hundreds of casualties was a scam and a test, but a large-scale battle with tens of thousands of casualties was definitely not a scam. It must be a real battle, one that even Toyotomi Hidetsugu and Tokugawa Ieyasu could not control.
This was exactly the effect that Xiao Ruxun needed. When they fought together, it would be the time when they could no longer control their own fate. At that moment, when they started to act, they would not have the time to react and join forces to resist.
Moreover, from the start of this war, Xiao Ruxun did not intend to let the Daqin fight alone. He wanted to improve the Chinese tributary system. He could not let the Daqin become a free protectorate of the surrounding countries, nor could he allow them to close their doors and become their own emperor.
As a follower, he had to be prepared to follow behind the big brother to charge and break through the enemy lines. There was no such thing as a free meal without working.
The traditional Chinese tributary system was mainly about being generous and dignified. Promoting the country's prestige was the most important. The Celestial Empire needed to maintain its dignity, but it had no interest in its internal affairs and foreign affairs.
Of course, it would be biased to say that they were out of their minds. The people of China who had experienced modern international struggles knew the importance of public opinion. In that era, the Central Plains Empire was the peak of public opinion.
Suzerainty was not a joke. It was something that really existed. If a king could not be recognized by the Chinese emperor, it would be illegal and would not have a righteous status.
Whatever the emperor said, the country's public opinion would lean towards that direction. As long as the Central Plains Empire maintained its peace and prosperity on the surface, and there was no major turmoil, the suzerainty of public opinion was stable and unshakable.
This was the greatest meaning of suzerainty.
However, there were many times when suzerainty wasn't that useful. It was limited to the fact that the regime of some countries changed too quickly, and the new ruler didn't have the same thoughts as the previous king. Often, there would be trouble, and the Central Plains Empire didn't have the means to deter them.
Therefore, in the second year of Longwu, Xiao Ruxun announced to the world that he would strengthen Daqin's control over the surrounding vassal states.
Xiao Ruxun's intention was to solidify and strengthen the suzerainty. On this point, after the new year of the second year of Longwu, the ambassadors sent abroad had already clarified to the kings of the vassal states.
Daqin is not your free protectorate. You have to respect Daqin and listen to Daqin's orders. When Daqin needs you, you have to obey its orders. In this way, when you are in danger, Daqin will come to your aid.
If you obey on the surface, but secretly do not obey the orders of His Majesty the Emperor, fight each other without permission, and even infringe on the interests of the suzerainty state, then Daqin will punish you in anger, and you don't have to blame them.
All kinds of situations showed the strong desire of Daqin's emperor, Xiao Ruxun, to control. The kings of the vassal states all realized the difference between Daqin and Daming.
Of course, this difference, when Xiao Ruxun was in charge of Myanmar, they had fully experienced it through the powerful Zhennan Army.
Now, the Zhennan Army had become the army of the Daqin Empire, and its military power had expanded unprecedentedly. Under such deterrence, even King Naresuan of Siam, who had always dominated Southeast Asia with his powerful military power, felt anxious.
In the face of Daqin's strong demands, they were in a dilemma.
Luzon was the first to respond to Daqin's call. Although in fact, Luzon was already Daqin's territory, and even the Luzon Prime Minister was appointed by the Daqin government, Luzon still maintained the dignity of a country on the surface.
That lucky bastard who was crowned as the King of Luzon was still alive and well, living like a pig.
And the reason why Xiao Ruxun kept the Luzon government was to make the Luzon government an obedient follower in this situation, giving other countries who dared to disagree with her strong political and public pressure, forcing them to comply.
With Luzon's response, North Korea suddenly realized that its status as the number one loyal dog of Daqin was not guaranteed.
North Korea, which had just experienced the Jurchen Rebellion, now really did not have a trace of power to cause trouble.
At the end of the Jurchen Rebellion, the North Korean government had almost lost the power to maintain the existence of the country. Even the livelihood of the North Korean King, Ri Mi, was difficult to guarantee, and they still needed Xiao Ruxun to give them money to maintain their dignity.
Xiao Ruxun ordered Liao Zhong, the commander-in-chief of the Liaodong Corps, and Liang Menglong, the Liaodong Inspector, to help the North Korean government maintain, using the power of the Daqin army to deter the thieves, so that the North Korean government could safely overcome the difficulties and re-train the Central Army to maintain the existence of the central government.
Then, Xiao Ruxun ordered the royal merchants controlled by the inner palace to enter North Korea to purchase local specialties, such as ginseng and animal fur, and encouraged the private merchants of Jiangnan to bravely go to North Korea to do business, saying that North Korea was now waiting to prosper, and they needed Daqin merchants to invigorate the economy.
Then, Xiao Ruxun ordered the North Korean government to collect commercial taxes according to the rules of Daqin, and not to torture the Daqin merchants without permission. If the Daqin merchants violated the law, they must be interrogated by the judge of the Daqin Embassy in North Korea, and the North Koreans could only listen from the side.
North Korea gave the greatest preferential treatment to the Daqin merchants, and any Daqin citizen should enjoy the most favorable treatment and enjoy extraterritorial rights.
In addition, Xiao Ruxun also allowed North Korea to borrow low-interest loans from Daqin in the name of the central government to tide over the economic difficulties, and when they had the money, they would slowly repay the loans in installments, or they could use the country's mineral resources to pay off the debts, such as food, wood, and metal mines.
Or, Daqin could rent some strategic ports from North Korea to be used as Daqin's military ports, and the Daqin government would pay some fees to the North Korean government, or they could use loans to pay off the debts. In any case, the North Korean government could think of any method, and they could propose it to Daqin, and Daqin was willing to discuss it with North Korea.
In any case, after this battle, the North Korean government had basically lost control of the region, and if they wanted to restore it, they would need the help of Daqin. In order to maintain their rule, Li Zhi was willing to do anything, and he began to realize that there were so many things in North Korea that could be exchanged for money.
He went on the road of exchanging money, never to return.
After a lot of trouble, a large number of Daqin merchants ran to North Korea to make a lot of money, and after a few months, they really settled down in North Korea's capital region and started to do business, and business was doing well, and North Korea's economy slowly improved.
At the same time, several mineral resources in North Korea were sold to Daqin's royal merchants, and the eunuch in charge of the palace sent people to prepare for the mining.
It could be said that North Korea's economy had been slowly controlled by Daqin, so even the country's income had to rely on Daqin merchants to do business, and they barely survived by collecting business taxes. If they lost their status as the first loyal dog of Daqin, it would be difficult for the North Korean government to continue to maintain itself.
After figuring this out, King Li Zhi of North Korea almost sent someone to urge the envoy to the capital to show his loyalty to Xiao Ruxun, saying that North Korea was willing to follow the orders of Daqin.
When there was a first, there was a second, and then there was a third, and then there was a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth.
Many vassal states expressed their willingness to follow the orders of Daqin, and they united around Daqin, with the emperor of Daqin as the supreme leader. In particular, they put an end to things such as attacking each other, which instantly gave some small countries in distress hope.
Following behind Luzon and North Korea were these small countries with weak national power, and their sovereignty was threatened by other countries. They hurriedly admitted the suzerainty of the emperor of Daqin, and announced that they would follow the footsteps of the Daqin Empire.
Of course, there were still many vassal states who were hesitant, or did not intend to agree at all. These people, Xiao Ruxun would deal with them slowly.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
